E-Performance: Nothing will come of the tax-exempt job bike leasing at first. Particularly annoying for working bike commuters: E-cars are taxed better.
Tax-exempt e-bike leasing for employees: What the Federal Finance Committee promised for 2019 will probably not become reality in this form - to the detriment of around 250.000 company bike users nationwide. Because the new version of § 37 No. 3 EStG states that only those company bikes that are provided by the employer “in addition to the wages already owed” are tax-free, and these are very few. As a rule, business bike leasing works according to the well-known principle of salary conversion: the employer keeps that part of the salary that corresponds to the leasing rate and makes the vehicle available for it; the lessee has to pay tax on the resulting benefit in kind at a monthly rate of one percent of the list price of the vehicle.
Particularly annoying: the new 2019 percent rule will apply to electric cars from 0,5 – the tax rate for the benefit in kind will be halved. The fast S-Pedelecs, exotic in this country in cycling, are taxed at half a percent, especially since they are legally classified as motor vehicles.
It is difficult to see that electric cars are being promoted more than the much more environmentally friendly e-bikes, which also make an important contribution to reducing traffic. Nevertheless, industry representatives and leasing experts such as the company "Jobrad" are positive: "We are pleased that the company bike has made it prominently onto the agenda of federal political legislation for the first time," Jobrad managing director Holger Tumat said to the press service bike. He is now hoping for the "decree level" of the state financial authorities, which could bring about an adjustment for cyclists and pedelec riders so that they can benefit from the new 0,5 percent rule, because, according to Tumat: "Anything else would be symbolic politics."
More information about e-bike leasing:
https://www.velomotion.de/2018/11/test-e-bike-leasing-eurorad/